Free ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: Basketball Daddy (BWWM Alpha Male Billionaire Pregnancy Romance) (African American Unexpected Pregnant Contemporary Romance) by Ava Walsh

slithered over the land like shadows. One, a big one with green eyes and a skiff of white on his muzzle, looked directly at the camera.
    The feed cut out. Blood roared in Andre's ears. Locke. He'd found out about the Bear. Now the Wolves were on their way.
    And if they found Mary in his bed? Or wearing his clothes? Panic stabbed into his heart. No. He wouldn't let it happen! They already treated her terribly, what might they do if they learned that she had been sleeping with a Bear?
    His clothes tore along the seams, shredding off his body as he let his Bear come forth. Without sparing a second thought, he charged out of the barn and into the forest.
    She goes away today, a desperate voice said in his head. As soon as these Wolves are gone, she goes away.
    ***
    Mary drifted back to sleep after Andre left. He wasn't in the house, but there was some fresh snow on the trees outside, so she thought he must have gone to plow the road. Humming, she quickly tidied the house.
    Every night she watched him fall asleep. When he was sleeping, he looked so peaceful. The tenseness in his face faded away, and his brown hair spread around him like a halo. She loved looking at him. If she didn't have to sleep herself, she would watch him all night, memorizing every feature; his strong jaw, heavy brows, straight nose. She wanted to remember everything about him.
    Never before had she been so happy, but a cloud hung over her. A fear that this would be the day when he told her it was time to leave. No more frolicking together in the snow, Wolf and Bear in harmony, chasing one another, running together. He had even taken her hunting on the full moon, though they hadn't caught anything.
    When he came back, she was going to do it. Her nerves trembled just thinking about it, but she was going to tell him that she loved him.
    Some hours later, she saw him coming out of the forest, his Bear glossy and beautiful in the white snow. What had he been doing? He would often disappear like this, and he never really answered her when she asked.
    He headed for the barn first, so Mary put on some bacon for lunch and set the table.
    A bruise stretched from his jaw to ear when he came in. Mary stifled a gasp, then screamed. Blood ran down his chest from three deep gouges just below his collarbone. His shirt was ripped to shreds, his jeans in a condition just as bad.
    Andre stumbled to the table and collapsed into a chair. Mary stood frozen, hands pressed to her mouth, heart slamming against her ribs. She couldn't move. How could Andre, the Bear, the strong, powerful man she had come to know, end up in such a state?
    "Water," he mumbled.
    "Water," she repeated, breaking from the spell.
    Her hands shook, but she rushed to get a glass and filled it at the tap pausing only to take the bacon off the burner. Andre gulped the water down, wincing when she peeled his shirt back from his skin. There were more gouges on his shoulders, long claw marks down his back, and blood dripped onto the floor.
    The wounds had to be cleaned and dressed. She knew that much from patching up her brothers when they got into brawls. "Where do you keep bandages?"
    "Cupboard in the bathroom."
    Mary put a pot of water on to boil and fetched the bandages. "Andre?"
    He slumped against the table and shook his head. Mary rushed to his side, putting a hand on his forehead. He didn't feel overly warm, but his temperature was elevated. Probably the adrenaline was wearing off.
    "Andre, you need to take off your shirt and lay on the floor."
    He straightened. "I'm okay. It's not that bad."
    "Not that bad?" Mary shook her head. "You're bleeding all over the floor. You are not okay. Now do as I say. What happened?"
    Andre grunted as he slid from the chair. Mary ran for a pillow and plumped it under his head before unbuttoning his shirt, checking for bruises on his torso that would indicate internal bruising. Fortunately, it didn't seem like that was the case. He still hadn't answered her by the time the